Just A Jump
by The Lady Mage
Summary: Rose and John were living their dream in Pete's World. They had a mortgage, car payment, and a joint office at Torchwood. And then it happened, and in a flash everything was gone. Now, being hunted by UNIT, the cannon may be the only chance left for survival. WIP Rating will change!


Greetings from The Lady Mage! Thank you for stopping by. :)

This has been knocking around in my head for a bit, and I had to get some of it out before it caused any damage. It's gonna be fairly long, and since I don't have to take any summer courses, I'll have time to write it out! Yay, me!

Disclaimer: I'll say it once, and only once... I don't own Dr Who or any of its characters, affiliates, what have you... if I did, I'd chuck Moffat. JS. Read, enjoy, review!

The Lady Mage

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Prologue

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It was a cool morning for the middle of April, and the brisk wind blew a chill through the air. The sun was still rising against the horizon, bathing everything in a warm, golden light. Dew clung to blades of grass and the leaves of trees, sparkling like glitter. The brightening scenery roused the songbirds in their nests, beckoning them to sing to one another.

A cool breeze blew a puff of frigid air up Rose's back. The blonde-turned-brunette shivered, pulling her denim jacket tighter around herself. It was far too early to be awake- with or without the four cups of coffee she had downed on the road that was now twenty minutes away, uphill. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear with fingers tingling with cold.

"The readings are getting stronger now." Jake said from his position at the front of the group. In his hand, he held a blinking black and yellow bit of alien tech, beeping steadily as they marched. As they crossed over a one-lane, rock and mortar bridge, the machine's beeping tempo began to increase. "I'd say we were only about a hundred feet off or so."

"Thank Rassilon." John muttered beside her, reaching out to clasp Rose's hand as they walked, sparing a glance at the little babbling creek they'd just marched over.

Rose smiled at him, giving his hand a squeeze. "So, what are your bets?"

"Bet a tenner on basic meteor for me." said the dark-haired woman walking along behind them, clicking her fingers across the screen of her tablet. She paused to reach out and playfully punch the arm of the man beside her. "David?"

"Fallen star for me." said David with a playful smirk. "Just a fallen star."

"A fallen star, bubba? How romantic!"

"Oi, shut it, Mandy."

"Children, children." John chided. His grin belied his tone. "Play nicely."

"Well, what do you think it is? The boogey man?" joked Mandy.

"Oh, probably a whole boatload of Slitheen, I'd say." John ran his free hand through his brown hair, pushing his dark-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I mean, what else could it be?"

"Slitheen, sir?" asked Jake, turning back just long enough to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes. Big, green, gassy beasts. Stink like last week's boiled eggs and deathly allergic to acetic acid." He glanced down at the hand he held. "Isn't that right, Rose?"

Rose snorted laughter. "Oh, come on, John! Slitheen? Really?"

"There." The black and yellow machine began to beep louder, a high-pitched staccato. Jake pointed across the field ahead of them. "Over there." Across the field stood an old barn, its wood sun-bleached and its roof fallen in. "That's where the signal's coming from."

"Well, come on, then." said Rose, picking up her pace. "The sooner we get done here, the sooner we can get back to headquarters, and the sooner we can go home."

"Eager to get home?" Mandy smirked mirthfully. "Fine by me. If I walk in on the two of you in the office one more-"

"Mandy!" Rose cut her off, giving the girl a light scowl. "We were changin' clothes that _one_ time, and you _swore_ you'd keep it a-"

"Oh, is that what they call it nowadays?"

"Our clothes were wet from the rain!"

"Sounds like something I'd say." Jake joined in the teasing as they walked up to the decrepit barn.

"Alright now..." John cleared his throat, trying not to blush. "Back on task."

"Yes, back on task." said David. "Lovebirds want to get home."

"Oi!" Rose groused, flashing a patented Jackie Tyler disapproving scowl at them, dropping John's hand to turn and look at the group. "Enough." She stepped past the group to look at the barn's double doors.

It had been red once, this barn, and the shriveled wood beneath its eaves still held a hint of its color. The door into the hay loft was long gone, leaving a gaping hole in the front of the building. Shadows cast inside where the roof was still intact. It's double doors, with their warped crossed x's, hung vicariously from ancient, rusty hinges.

John was the first to touch the door, testing its strength. Instead of falling to the ground with a great crash, it swung inside the barn with a high-pitched whine. Inside was all shadows until the far corner where the ground was littered with bits and pieces of the broken roof. The movement of the door stirred up years of untouched dust, and it swirled in the air, puffing out into the morning light.

"That's not at all creepy." Rose smirked, pulling out a torch, and taking a step inside. "Jake, where's the signal strongest?"

The blonde man fiddled with the tech in his hand, pushing the buttons until its beeping steadied into a slower rhythmic pulse. "Inside, definitely." he answered, "Close... to the right-" He pointed into the building. "Over there."

"Let's go then." said John. "You three take the bottom. Rose and I will check the loft."

"Up ya get, then." Rose pointed her torch at the old wooden rung ladder leading up to dark loft.

He smiled, bowing low and sweeping an arm out in the ladder's direction. "Oh, ladies first."

"Chicken." she teased, tongue-in-teeth, and stepped around him. The ladder, though obviously as old and forgotten as this barn, felt sturdy beneath her hands and feet. Within the space of a minute, Rose had scaled her way to the top, turned around, and peered down to watch John do the same. "You coming?"

John smirked up at her, reaching out to the ladder. "Allons-y!" The lithe agent got to the third from the top's rung before a sharp crack rang out beneath him. A surprised, "Oh!" was all he had time for before the seemingly stable footing beneath him was splintered and gone.

Before he could fall, Rose reached out and grabbed his arms. "I gotcha!" Her legs slid on the dust and hay beneath her. "Oh, shit!" She tried to find purchase, her sneakered feet squealing as she slid along the dusty board. Then, quite suddenly, there was no flooring left beneath her, and with a high-pitched squeal, both Rose and John fell the twenty or so feet to the dirty barn floor.

~:~

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Please review! Tell me what you think! There's not much now, of course, but the rest is coming soon. :)

The Lady Mage


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